A study authored by researchers at Quest Diagnostics and presented at ASM Microbe on June 9-12th 2022 in Washington, D.C. provides evidence that the Techcyte technology aids in the detection of intestinal protozoa. To perform the study, researchers chose software created by Techcyte, the clinical pathology AI platform.
For years, the gold standard for intestinal protozoa detection has been manual microscopic examination. Despite being used in nearly every lab, manual examination has noticeable disadvantages that are compounded by a shortage of qualified lab technicians.
“Like many other industries, the laboratory industry is experiencing a shortage of qualified lab technicians. We’re glad they looked to Techcyte as a solution to this problem,” says John Walker, Senior Systems Engineer at Techcyte, “Our goal is to digitize and automate laboratory testing using AI to save labs time and cost, and ultimately improve quality and patient care.”
Techcyte’s technology assists labs in making more accurate and efficient reads. The software works by examining a digitized slide to count and classify organisms, in this case, parasites. A sample marked as positive is sent to a lab technician for verification. In the study, Techcyte’s method enabled technicians to identify two additional positive samples that were missed by manual microscopy out of the 135 confirmed positives.
The study concluded that Techcyte’s method was robust and sensitive enough to screen for intestinal protozoa in stool samples.
“We are pleased to have our solution tested in a world-leading laboratory,” says Ben Cahoon, Techcyte CEO, “It is satisfying to see our technology help lab technicians improve the accuracy and efficiency of detecting parasites.”